EVERY DAY of your practice you create a health record of the patients you examine and prescribe for. You meticulously make note of not only refraction results but also pathology or potential pathology that might be indicated by the patient’s family history.
Can you imagine if you did not keep these records? Besides not being eligible for third-party payments, each time you examined the patient, you’d be starting over. What quality of care would you be providing if your attitude was, “I really don’t need to write anything down. I can keep it in my head.” Sounds ridiculous, right?
The reality is: This is an important part of building a practice that provides quality care — keeping meticulous records of each patient visit. Here is my question: Then how do we think we can manage our practice without the same attention to note-taking or using the same approach to building our practice?
As an owner/operator optometrist, you wear two hats, one as a qualified health care practitioner and the other as the business owner and manager. Currently you are probably keeping very good records and taking excellent notes as the OD but my guess is that you are trying to perform the other responsibility by just keeping everything memorized. I don’t know about you, but I learned long ago that you can’t trust your success to your memory. We learned that in high school. Then why do we not think this is a bad idea for ensuring our success as owners and managers of our business?
Keeping a journal is easier today than ever before. There are countless smartphone applications that enable you to dictate your thoughts and interactions with employees and vendors. I use an application called Evernote. I find it easy to use and keep an ongoing record of daily notes related to my professional responsibilities. I have also set up a separate personal journal, which I use to record thoughts, ideas, notes from books I read, etc. I consider this my personal health record.
There are a number of different approaches: Some like pen and paper, others prefer a combination of digital and analog. The method matters less than the consistency of writing down the notes and building the record. If you commit to doing this for 90 days, you’ll see how it can help you be more productive and provide you with a base of information on which to make good decisions. In my case, it’s helped me be a better professional, husband and father.
This is a perfect time of year to start creating your personal health record. To start, simply decide before you go home each evening (or better, throughout the day whenever you have a few minutes), to jot down your thoughts as the business owner and manager. Plan time each week to reflect back on your notes, and plan the upcoming week building on the record you’ve created. You will be amazed at what you’ve learned and recorded in one year’s time.